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Is Sony about to open up PS3/PSP for third party applications?
The new PSP firmware points to future development for both the PSP and the PS3 that could be good news for third party developers.
Written by David Scammell, 26 November 2009
Sony has always had an unusual relationship with third party software (we're not talking games). The PS2 explicitly allowed the running of Linux on it. The PS3 came with Linux support, which ended up with some institutions buying PS3s in bulk in order to run them in parallel as a cheap sort of super-computer (there's no cheaper way to get the Cell chip, apparently). Then Sony removed the Linux option from the PS3 Slim.
Sony has constantly battled with homebrew on the PSP. It has always been in the name of piracy, but the end result has been that it has been impossible to run third-party applications on the PSP, and the ability to do so on the PS3 has effectively been removed.
It was therefore a little surprising to see just how the Digital Comics feature has been implemented on the PSP. Although you need the latest firmware installed, the comic reader isn't part of the firmware. Instead, you have to manually download the software to a folder you create on the PSP called "APP". The look and feel of the comics app isn't all that in keeping with the PSP itself, and it launches as a "game". It looks like a third-party developed application, though the support and distribution are official. However, appearing in the "Extras" menu, it has us wondering what other "Extra" apps we might get.
What's more, the purchasing of the comics is via your PlayStation account, and it's hard to see features being added to the PSP that aren't at least being considered for the PS3. Sony wants digital content on the PS3 in a big way to become a content distributor, so it makes sense.
While it's not likely to mean an open format for developers in the short term, it does look like Sony is open to third parties approaching them with ideas for implementing extra features, even if the implementation and/or distribution then goes through official channels. It might not seem much, but it's a crack opening that might result in more third party services and applications or web applications appearing on the PS3 and PSP. It might also explain the shut out of Linux from the PS3.
